CA Appeals court overturns $20-million award in Michael Jackson case

The 2nd District Court of Appeal overturned a $20-million award earlier this month in a case involving a secret videotape of Michael Jackson and his attorneys on a 2003 charter jet flight.

Jackson took the celebrity charter flight with his attorneys from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara to surrender to face child molestation charges. During the flight, the singer was captured on tape talking with his attorney Mark Geragos. Jackson was ultimately acquitted of the molestation charges.

The tape was discovered in 2003 after Fox News reported that it had been approached by someone who wanted to sell the video footage.

In March 2006, Borer and an associate pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiring to secretly record the pop star speaking with his attorneys.

In its ruling, the appellate court concluded that Borer's conduct was "sufficiently reprehensible to warrant punitive damages." However, the court concluded, the evidence presented in the case did not support the multimillion-dollar award.